Relay



A r'il 30, 1957 Filed June 6. 1951 A. F. HORLACHER ,790,939

RELAY 2 Sheets-Shoat 1 INVENTOR.

CZZberZFffirZQc/Zen p 1957 A. F. HORLACHER 2,790,939

RELAY Filed June 6, 1951 2 Shuts-Sheet 2 'IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIII.

'IIIIIIIIIIII'II'I/I I N VEN TOR. Qlbrififia rZan/zer United StatesPatent RELAY Albert F. Horlacher, Palatine, Ill., assignor to C. P. Clar& C0,, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application June 6,1951, Serial No. 230,169

9 Claims. (Cl. 317-497) The present invention relates to electric relaysand more particularly to an improved relay which is especially suitablefor use in applications where the relay is subjected to shock andconsiderable Vibration and may be required to be operated by smallcurrents and over a wide temperature range, but which relay is of suchconstruction that it may be used for other and general purposes.

Many eiforts have heretofore been made to devise relays for use ininstallations in which vibration is prevalent, of which aircraftinstallations may be considered typical. The results have not beenentirely satisfactory because of the complexity of the relays andbecause, while the relays may have been satisfactory for the purpose forwhich they were specifically designed, they were not satisfactory forother and more general purposes.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide a newand improved relay which is simple and economical to construct andassemble, reliable in operation over a wide temperature range includingtemperatures up to about 200 C. and which is small and compact, butwhich is substantially insensitive to vibrations and shocks of varioussorts.

' A further object of the present invention is to provide a relay whichcan readily be sealed in a container to render it immune to moisture,injurious elements, etc., whereby its field of use is expanded and itsoperating life is increased.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedbalanced relay which can be placed in practically any desired positionand which will opcrate satisfactorily in response to operating currentbut which will not operate in response to vibration and shocks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedrelay of the rotary type which is small, compact, rugged and yetefiicient in operation.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved relay of what may be termed multi-polar type including a statorelement having a plurality of angularly spaced apart polar portions anda rotor or armature having a like number and similarly spaced apartpolar portions.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a new andimproved relay of the rotary type including a plurality of circularlyarranged circuit controlling movable contacts that are constructed so asto enable a comparatively large number to be located in a small space,and furthermore, wherein said contacts are of unique construction givingthem good deflectibi'lity and follow through.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a newand improved relay wherein the coil and stator, the armature or rotor,and the movable contacts and associated stationary terminals eachconstitute a subassernbly, which subassemblies can readily be assembledand then inserted into a core supporting. housing forming part of themagnetic flux path.

2,790,939 Patented Apr. 30, 1957 A further object of the presentinvention is the provision of a new and improved relay of the rotarytype having an efficient magnetic circuit and comprising a small,compact structure including a housing of magnetic material, an annularstator fitting closely within the housing and including a plurality ofangularly spaced apart polar portions, and a rotor concentrically andmovably mounted inside of the stator.

In brief, the relay of the present invention comprises two readilyassembled units, one of which includes an axially extending magneticcore and the second includes three subassemblies. The latter are, first,the coil, its bobbin and the stator; second, the rotor and contactactuator; and third, the movable contacts, which are resilient andmovable by the actuator, a base adapted hermetically to be sealedrelative to the housing, and a plurality of contact pins extendingthrough the base.

The coil has its end portions connected to tubular coil terminalsmounted on the bobbin. These terminals are utilized to orientate thebase and actuator assembly relative to the stator. The movable contactsare constructed and arranged so that a comparatively large number can belocated within a very small space. They are generally V-shaped inconfiguration, one end of each being fixedly secured to an axiallyextending contact pin located some distance from the center of the base.The opposite end is reversely bent for cooperative engagement with anormally open contact. The outer portion of each contact extendsradially outwardly beyond the stationary contact pins and into slots inthe actuator, whereby the actuator is readily operatively connected tothe contacts.

The actuator includes oppositely extending shaft portions, one of whichfits into a counterbore in the core and the other into a counterbore inthe base, whereby effective operation of the moving parts of the relayis insured.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the ensuing description of an illustrative embodimentthereof, in the course of which reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings in which,

Fig. l is a side elevational view of the relay of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the relay with the housing shown in axialcross section;

Fig. 3 is an end view showing primarily the terminal ends of the contactpins and the base structure;

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective View or" the three subassembliesconstituting all of the relay except the housing and core.

Fig. 5 is an axialcross section through the relay taken along line 55 ofFigs. 3 and 7;

Fig. 6 is a diametrical cross sectional view taken along the line 6-6 ofFig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a diametrical cross section taken along the line 77 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary axial cross sectional view taken alongthe broken line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig- 9 is an enlarged fragmentary diametrical cross sectional viewillustrating primarily the operation of the contacts and showing theirposition when the relay is energized or operated;

Fig. 10 is an axialv cross section through one of the stationarycontacts of the relay;

Figs. 11 to 13 inclusive, are fragmentary somewhat diagrammatic viewsillustrating other contact arrangements which may be used.

Referring now to the drawings, it may be noted that the relay of thepresent invention is illustrated in its entirety by the referencecharacter 10; It comprises, as may be best noted from Figs. 1, 2 and 5,two units of construction 12. and 14. Unit 12 consists of a housing 16and a core 18. Unit 14 consists of the remainder of the relay andincludes three subassemblies 20, 22 and 24 as best illustrated in Fig.4. The construction and arrange-- ment is such that the unit 14 can beassembled and tested prior to insertion into the housing wherebymanufacture is considerably expedited.

The subassembly consists of a coil 26 and its bobbin 23, a stator 30 anda pair of diametrically oppositely located tubular coil terminals 32.The subassembly 22 comprises, in the main, an armature or rotor 34 ofmag netic material and a contact actuator 36. The subassembly 24comprises, in the main, a terminal pin-base assembly 38 and a pluralityof circuit controlling moveable contact elements 40.

The units and subassemblies, each of which includes novel features, willnow be described in detail.

The unit 12 comprising the housing 16 and core 18, may be made from anydesired magnetic material. The housing 16 comprises a circular end wall44 and a tubular side wall 46 having a first internal annular shoulder48 spaced some distance from the end wall for locating the subassembly14, and a second internal shoulder 50 located near the open end of thehousing for locating the subassembly 38, the location of these twosubassemblies being such as to insure freedom of movement for theactuator subassembly 22. The core 18 is located axially of the containerand projects a short distance beyond the shoulder 48. The core may besuitably fastened to the end wall, one convenient and effective way ofdoing so being by projection welding it to the inside of the end wall.The core 18 is provided at its free end with a counterbore 52 for apurpose which will be made clear hereinafter.

The stator-coil-bobbin subassembly 20 is constructed so that it can heslid into place over the core 18. It is dimensioned to fit closely inthe housing. The inner rim 53 of the spool is imperforate while theouter rim 54 is secured to the tubular coil terminals 32 to which theends of the coil, indicated by reference characters 58 and 60 aresecured. The securing is accomplished by passing the ends of the coilthrough the inner ends of the terminals and thence out through smallradial openings 62 in the terminals and securing, as by soldering, theexposed coil ends to the exterior of the terminals, as indicated inFigs. 4 and 5. The tubular coil terminals, in accordance with a featureof the present invention, are utilized for locating the parts of theunit 14, as will be brought out hereinafter.

The stator 30 comprising a series of laminations, is secured to theexterior of the rim 54 of bobbin 28 as by rivets 64. The stator has anouter circular rim 66 dimensioned closely to fit inside the housing andalso to abut against the shoulder 48, thereby accurately to locate thesubassembly 20 in place within the housing. The stator also has a seriesof angularly spaced apart inwardly projecting teeth or polar portions 68of suitable configuration, but preferably with flat radial pole faces 70located adjacent the like radial pole faces 72 on the polar portions 74of the rotor 34. It may be noted that the coil terminals 32 extend somedistance axially beyond the stator and pass through interpolar regionsof the latter.

The rotoractuator assembly 22. best illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6,includes the rotor 34 and the actuator 36. The latter is preferablygenerally cup shaped with a circular end wall 76 and an axiallyextending side wall or rim 78. The rotor 34 is also preferably oflaminated construction and it is secured to the end wall 76 as by therivets 80. The polar portions 74 extend radially outwardly from what maybe termed a hub portion 82. The dimensions of the stator and rotor aresuch as to provide an etficient magnetic circuit and the cooperatingradially extending pole faces 70 and 72 are dimensioned to give auniform cross section for the How of magnetic flux for the particularspatial configuration. An efficient magnetic circuit of small dimensionsin thus provided.

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The arrangement of the stator, rotor, core and housing is thus such thatthe rotor is moved a short distance by magnetically efiicient meanswhenever the coil 26 is energized. The flux is distributed uniformlyaround the housing and to the polar portions and the arrangement of thelatter is such as to impart an effective turning torque to the rotor. Aswill be described hereinafter, the rotation of the rotor is utilized toeffect movement of the movable contacts 40.

In order to insure ease of movement of the rotor-actuator subassembly,the latter is provided with oppositely extending shaft portions 84 and86, the former of which is journaled in the counterbore 52 in the coreand the latter of which is journaled in a counterbore 88 at the insideof a terminal carrying end or base plate 90 forming part of the terminalpin-base assembly. Additional to facilitate movement of the actuator,the latter is made of nylon. It will be noted also that the end wall 76of the actuator is provided with diametrically opposed apertures 92through which the tubular elements 32 extend. These openings are of asize to enable the actuator to move the requisite distance.

In accordance with another feature of the present invcntion, theactuator is operatively connected in a novel manner to the relaycontacts which also are of a novel construction, providing adequatedeflection and follow through of the contacts. The operative connectionbetween the actuator and the contacts includes driving connections onthe actuator comprising a series of angularly spaced apart axiallyextending slots 94 cooperatively associated with contact operatingmeans, which preferably takes the form of reversely bent radiallyextending end portions 96 of the contacts now about to be described inconnection with the subassembly 38.

The terminal pin-base subassembly 38 includes the base 90, a peripheralmetallic band 100 secured to it in gas tight manner, a pair of terminalpins 102 adapted to be inserted into the tubular coil terminals 32 and aseries of stationary contact pins 104, the contact terminals 102 and 104passing through the base 90 and being secured therein in gas tightmanner. For certain installations the base 90 may be made of Bakelitebut if the interior of the relay is to be hermetically sealed it may bemade of other materials. For example, it could be made ofpolymonochlorotrifiuoroethylene thermosetting plastic commonly known asKel F thermosetting plastic. It may, if desired, be made of glass orother available materials. The band 100 is secured to the base 90 andafter the relay has been completely assembled the open end 106 of thehousing is spun over and soldered or otherwise sealed to the band, seeFigs. 2 and 5.

The inner ends of the contact pins 104 project Within the interior ofthe cup like actuator 36. If desired the contact terminals can be madefrom some precious or semi-precious contact material or they may be madefrom base material, such as brass, but the projecting contact ends maybe provided with tubular or sleeve contact portions 108, as illustratedin Figs. 8 and 10.

In order to provide adequate deflectibility and follow through of themovable contacts, the latter are constructed and arranged in a novelmanner best illustrated in Figs. 4, 7 and 9 to which reference is nowhad. First of all it may be noted that each of the contacts 40 consistsof a relatively wide strip of flexible resilient material and that eachhas associated with it three of the stationary contact terminals 104.One, indicated by the reference character 104A, constitutes a stationarycon tact to which the movable contact 40 is secured. The end portion ofthe contact encircles substantially the entirety of contact 104A, asindicated by the reference character 109. The contact has a firstportion 110 extending radially inwardly quite closely to the shaftportion 86 of the actuator. From there it continues with a portion 112extending radially outwardly beyond the outermost contacts 104 to formthe previously referred to end portion 96 through which the contacts areoperatively connected to the actuator. Finally, the movable contactincludes a reversed inwardly extending portion 114. The portion 112 isnormally in engagement with an associated stationary contact 104B andwhen the coil is energized and the relay operated, this engagement isdiscontinued and the portion 114 engages the contact 104C, as bestillustrated in Fig. 9.

It will be noted further that the contacts 104C are positioned radiallyinward-1y of the other contacts, this for the purpose of lengthening thereversely bent portion 114 to give added defiectibility and followthrough when contact is made between portions 114 and 104C. Thearrangement furthermore is such that a maximum length of contact islocated within the confines of a very small space.

In order to provide a good contact surface on the movable contacts forengagement with the contacts 104B and 104C, the free ends of thecontacts may be provided with contact surfaces of good contact material.For example, and referring to Fig. 9, the outer end of the contact isprovided with a laminar contact defining portion 116 of good contactmaterial.

While the contact arrangement described above is at present preferred,it should be understood that other arrangements can be used. Some of thearrangements that can be used have been illustrated in Figs. i l to 13inclusive. The arrangement of Fig. 11 is very much like that alreadydescribed except that the contact 104C is located at the same radialdistance from the center as contact pin 104A and contact 104B. Thearrangement of Fig. 12 is like that of Fig. 11 except that the contactpin 104A is located nearer the center of the device.

The arrangement of Fig. 13 is like that of Fig. 12 except the movablecontact is provided with an additional reversely extending portion 118secured to the contact pin, thereby giving the contact additionallength.

From the foregoing detailed description of the relay of the presentinvention it will be apparent that it can be constructed easily andsimply and that it is efficient in operation and rugged in construction.Also the arrangement is such that, if desired, it can be hermeticallysealed.

One of the features of the invention, as heretofore indicated, is thatit consists of two units, one of which consists of a number ofsubassemblies, each of which can be easily constructed and all of whichcan readily be assembled. That the subassemblies 20, 22 and 24 canreadily be made is apparent particularly from Fig. 4. Likewise, they canreadily be assembled for insertion into the housing as well as fortesting prior to such insertion. In assembling the subassemolies, theactuatorrotor subassembly 22 is mounted on the contact pinbasesuba-ssembly 38. This can be readily done by passing the coil terminalpins 102 through the openings 92 in the actuator, placing the contactend portions 96 into the respective slots 94, and placing the shaftportion 86 into the counterbore '88 in the base 90. These can beassembled relative to the stator and coil bobbin by inserting the coilterminal pins 102 into the tubular coil terminals 32. The electricalconnections to the coil are thus effectively made and once made thearrangement is such that the three parts are accurately and correctlyassembled relative to each other. The arr-angement is furthermore suchthat once the unit 14 has been assembled it can be readily placed intothe housing in any angular position. Once placed into the housing, theend 106 of the housing can be spun over and sealed. Thereafter, theinterior of the housing can be evacuated and, if desired, dry air ornitrogen can be inserted into the housing to provide an inert atmospheretherein.

The relay of the present invention is also very efficient and rugged. Alow reluctance magnetic path is provided by the arrangement of the core,housing, stator and rotor, and the provision of a plurality of polarportions. Whenever the relay is to be operated, the coil 26 is providedwith current and as a result the rotor moves so that the opposed polefaces 70 and 7-2, stator and rotor move toward each other with theresult that the actuator deflects the end portions 96 of the movablecontacts from the normal position illustrated in Fig. 7 to the operatedposition illustrated in Fig. 9.

The contact construction is such as to provide consider abledeflectibility and follow through even though the contacts are confinedin a relatively small space. The relay is also operable over a widetemperature range and at relatively high temperatures.

While the present invention has been illustrated and disclosed inconnection with the details of illustrative embodiments thereof, itshould be understood that those are not intended to be limitative of theinvention except as set forth in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. A relay comprising structure defining a generally cup shaped housing,core defining structure extending coaxially from the closed end of saidstructure, stator structure within said housing defining a plurality ofangularly spaced apart inwardly extending polar portions within saidhousing, rotor structure pivotally mounted within and located entirelywithin said housing for movement about the axis of said core andincluding a plurality of angularly spaced apart outwardly extendingpolar portions cooperatively associated with said first mentioned polarportions, a supporting shaft for said rotor, and means for movablysupporting said rotor within said housing including a counterbore forone end of said shaft at the end of said core and base structure securedto said housing and having a counterbore for the other end of saidshaft.

2. A relay comprising structure defining a generally cup shaped housingof magnetic material, core defining structure extending coaxially fromthe closed end of said structure, stator structure within said housingdefining a plurality of pairs of angularly spaced apart radiallyinwardly extending stator polar portions in magnetic contact with andencircled by said housing, each of said pairs of stator polar portionsincluding a pair of pole faces lying in a single plane passing throughthe axis of said core structure and on opposite sides thereof, and rotorstructure pivotally mounted within said housing including a plurality ofpairs of angularly spaced apart rotor polar portions extending radiallyoutwardly into the stator interpolar region, each of said pairs of rotorpolar portions including a pair of pole faces lying in a single planepassing through the axis of said core structure and on opposite sidesthereof so as to be adapted to be moved into juxtaposition with the polefaces of a corresponding one of said pairs of stator polar portions.

3. A relay comprising structure defining a generally cup shaped housing,a core defining structure extending coaxially from the closed end ofsaid structure, a stator defining ring mounted inside and including aplurality of pairs of angularly spaced apart inwardly extending statorpolar portions, each of said pairs of stator polar portions including apair of pole faces lying in a single plane pass ing through the axis ofsaid core structure and on opposite sides thereof, and a rotor includinga ring-like hub encircling said core and a plurality of pairs ofangularly spaced apart outwardly extending rotor polar portionscooperatively associated with said stator polar portions, each of saidpairs of rotor polar portions including a pair of pole faces lying in asingle plane passing through the axis of said core structure and onopposite sides thereof so as to be adapted to be moved intojuxtaposition with the pole faces of a corresponding one of said pairsof stator polar portions.

4. A relay comprising an axial core structure, a stator concentricallyarranged relative to said core and including 7 a plurality of angularlyspaced apart inwardly extending polar portions, a rotor including aplurality of angularly spaced apart outwardly extending polar portionscooperatively associated with said first mentioned polar portions, andmeans for movably mounting said rotor including a rotor shaft, acounterbore at the end of core into which one end of said shaft extends,and a base structure having a counterbore into which the opposite end ofsaid shaft extends.

5. An armature-contact actuator subasscmbly, including in combination, anon-magnetic contact actuator element having an axially extendingperipheral wall and a circular end wall, said peripheral wall havingcontact operating means, and a magnetic armature fixedly mounted on saidend wall.

6. An armature-contact actuator subassembly, including in combination,magnetic structure having a plurality of angularly spaced apart radiallyextending polar portions, and a generally cup shaped actuator having endand side wall structures, said magnetic structure being mounted on theend wall structure, and said side wall structure including a series ofangularly spaced apart axially extending slots.

7. An armature-contact actuator subassembly, includ ing in combination,magnetic structure having a plurality of angularly spaced apart radiallyextending polar portions, and a generally cup shaped actuator made ofnylon and having end and side wall. structures and supporting shaft,said shaft extending axially in opposite directions from said end wallstructure and said magnetic structure being mounted on the end Wallstructure, and said side wall structure including a series of angularlyspaced apart axially extending slots.

8. A relay structure including, a coil bobbin having an end wall, and amagnetic stator element carried only by said end wall and having aringlike peripheral portion and a plurality of spaced apart polarportions, and spaced apart aligning elements carried by said structureand extending axially beyond said stator element.

9. A relay structure including, a coil bobbin having a circular endwall, a stator secured to said end wall and comprising a ring-likeperipheral portion and inwardly extending angularly spaced apart polarportions, and coil terminals secured to said end wall in interpolarregions, said terminals extending axially beyond said stator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS714,607 Potter Nov. 25, 1902 1,839,377 Daly Jan. 5, 1932 1,852,232Buchhold Apr. 5, 1932 1,920,135 Allen July 25, 1933 2,082,493 HartmanJune 1, 1937 2,207,292 Hansel et a1. July 9, 1940 2,216,620 List Oct. 1,1940 2,216,654 Seubert Oct. 1, 1940 2,248,584 Reynolds July 8, 19412,289,227 Walker July 7, 1942 2,310,138 Whittaker Feb. 2, 1943 2,353,756Price July 18, 1944 2,364,656 Price Dec. 12, 1944 2,499,632 Coake Mar.7, 1950 2,519,731 Aust Aug. 22, 1950 2,531,905 Carpenter Nov. 28, 19502,538,020 Lomhalt Jan. 16, 1951

